Meet Gabriel, a 66-year-old man from Uganda. "Gabriel broke his humerus bone and he cannot hold anything firmly, or have coordinated activity with his right hand," our medical partner, The Kellermann Foundation, reports. While collecting firewood one morning, Gabriel climbed up a tree near his home and fell from the branches. Children on their way to school found him unconscious and called elders who were able to take him to the hospital. In falling from the tree, Gabriel sustained a fracture of his humerus, the long arm bone that connects the elbow joint and the shoulder. As a day laborer on a farm, it's important that Gabriel receives medical attention as he is unable to use his right arm. To treat Gabriel's fracture, he will receive a cast, painkillers, and antibiotics to prevent the spread of infection. While he is contributing what he can, he is unable to pay for the treatment in full. $355 will cover the rest of the treatment, and allow Gabriel's arm to heal properly. In his free time, Gabriel goes to the local tailors to learn tailoring skills. He hopes that one day he will own his own tailoring machine. With treatment, his hopes for the future could in time become reality. "I would like to thank everyone who is supporting my health care," Gabriel expresses. "I want to also thank the hospital, for it provides excellent health services to us in the area."

Born in Kenya only one month ago, baby Joy is the second child in her family. Joy’s mother brought her to our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), seeking treatment for spina bifida. Spina bifida is a birth defect in which several vertebrae in the lower back do not close properly, leaving the baby’s spinal canal exposed. The spinal cord and its surrounding membranes protrude through the opening in the backbone, forming a sac on the baby’s lower back. “Joy has a leaking mass on her lower backbone area,” explains AMHF. Because tissues and nerves in the mass are exposed, “Joy is at a risk of infection” in addition to “development of a tethered [spinal] cord that can lead to either scoliosis or kyphosis and potentially loss of muscle function in her lower limbs.” Without immediate intervention, Joy may also experience urinary and bowel incontinence. Joy’s condition poses significant challenges for her family, as “looking after Joy requires round-the-clock care, from administering her care to ensuring Joy is hygienically clean to avoid infections that may result in fatality,” AMHF tells us. Joy’s mother, a single parent, cares not only for her two children but also for her grandmother who is ill. The money that she earns from washing clothes in the neighborhood is barely enough to support the family, let alone pay for Joy’s medical care. For $805, surgeons will place Joy’s spinal cord and membranes back inside the spinal canal and close the opening on Joy’s back. Funding for Joy also covers the costs of a five-day hospital stay, three days of physical therapy, imaging, lab work, and medicine. “The surgery will help prevent risk of infections, developing tethered cord, and paralysis of Joy’s legs,” says AMHF. “My biggest joy would be to have my little princess treated and successful in future—free from any disability or illness,” shares Joy’s mother.

62-year-old Voeun lives in Cambodia where she enjoys visiting the pagoda to listen to monks pray. Just over two years ago, Voeun developed cataracts in each eye. Since then it has caused her blurred vision, headaches, irritation, tearing, and cloudy lenses. Our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC), shares: “Voeun can’t see everything clearly as she once could.” To treat her cataracts, doctors will perform a short operation that will replace Voeun's clouded lenses with new, artificial implants. The implants will allow Voeun to see clearly again after one or two days of healing. With $225 in Watsi funding Voeun will be able to cover the costs of the surgery, medicine, and hospital fees. “Voeun has traveled with her sister for four hours to CSC to seek treatment,” adds CSC. Voeun is married with 1 son, 2 daughters, and 14 grandchildren. Voeun’s sister says, “I hope my sister will see better very soon, so she can return to doing work she loves as well as go anywhere she wants to on her own.”

"We would like to ask for help for the treatment of our son. We are greatly concerned for his future," share the parents of 14-month-old Archiel. Archiel lives with his family in the Philippines, and has been diagnosed with unilateral clubfoot. "Archiel cannot walk, he is only capable of rolling from left to right," shares our medical partner, International Care Ministries (ICM). "His mother observed that he has poor locomotive and speech development. This makes it hard for them to address his needs and keep him safe. One parent has to stay in the house and watch him all the time and that prevents his parents to work and sustain their family's needs." "Archiel gives his parents so much joy," ICM continues. "Though he cannot speak or walk, he manages to give happiness to his family by smiling and giggling when he is happy. Those simple moments are greatly cherished by the family. His parents are working together to supply for the needs of the family, but still, their income is not even enough for the needs of the children. That is why it is very hard for them to provide for his treatment." For $1,500, Archiel will receive treatment and surgery to correct his clubfoot. After surgery, "Archiel will be more comfortable in facing challenges in learning and development. As part of him is being treated, this can pave the way that other conditions can also be addressed. This surgery will also increase the quality of life of their family as it address the emotional needs, physical needs, and economic needs that is attached to his condition. With the surgery, he can now also start learning and developing his locomotive skills which will also hasten all other learning stages he has to face in his age," ICM adds. "We have been praying that our time to work for our family will be more than what we can do now," Archiel's parents add, "So the future of our children will be brighter. We also would like our life to become a testimony that God truly touches lives and hearts to help the poor like us. We would like to see Archiel grow, walk, go to school and fulfill whatever dream he has."

This is Leng, a 31-year-old farmer from Cambodia. Three months ago she and her husband had their first child, and Leng spends her time cooking for her family and looking after her baby. "Leng fell down from a tree when she was 14," reports our medical partner Children's Surgical Centre (CSC). This resulted in a hip fracture. "Her right hip pain has increased over the years and treatments at a private clinic were ineffective. She first came to CSC three years ago and we scheduled her for a surgery, however she did not show up for her surgery because she decided the pain was manageable." Unfortunately, since delivering her baby Leng's hip pain has significantly worsened. Although she is able to walk without crutches, it causes her severe pain. Leng now needs a hip replacement surgery. Unable to afford the surgery, Leng travelled three hours with her husband to reach CSC for medical treatment. $430 will fund her hip replacement operation, as well as all post-operative care. Doctors will surgically remove the damaged parts of her right hip, and replace them with artificial prosthetic pieces. After a few weeks of physiotherapy to ensure that Leng fully recovers, she will be able to return home to her family responsibilities. "I hope after surgery I can walk normally again and without pain," Leng shares. "I will return home and continue looking after my baby when I am healed."

Huy is an 80-year-old housewife living with her family in Cambodia. She enjoys visiting the pagoda to listen to the monks, pray, and join in ceremonies. One year ago, Huy developed a cataract in each of her eyes, causing her to become partially blind. Her eyes have been tearing, irritated, and have a cloudy haze. She has been unable to do her work well or safely go outside because of her vision loss. Her niece’s daughter worries that Huy’s vision will deteriorate further, and she will lose complete independence. Huy’s niece’s daughter took her to our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC), where doctors told her she was in need of a routine small incision cataract surgery (SCIS) and an intraocular lens implant in each eye. By replacing the clouded lens with these new, artificial lens implants doctors will be able to restore her vision to full clarity. In total, the procedure, supplies, drugs, and three days of inpatient care will cost $225. Huy looks forward to recovering her eyesight. With her eyesight reclaimed, she will be able to fully enjoy visiting the pagoda and going about her normal daily activities.

“Petrona has been having convulsions almost her whole life, preventing her from attending school, and getting a job outside her home. She gets convulsions a couple times a week, on average,” shares our medical partner Wuqu’ Kawoq. Petrona is an 18-year-old woman who lives in Guatemala with her family. “She loves to ride her bike, eat chocolate, and play with her younger siblings,” says Wuqu’ Kawoq. Petrona has epilepsy, and gets frequent and unexpected seizures. “This makes her parents fearful of doing things with her outside their home. They do not let Petrona leave the house alone, because she could have a convulsion and seriously hurt herself. This has left her mother to have to stay at home with her all the time to make sure she is okay and doesn't have a seizure," continues Wuqu' Kawoq. Her father’s crops haven’t found much success lately, and thus, the family does not have a consistent and stable income. Treatment and management for Petrona’s epilepsy will cost $967, which includes medication and regular doctor appointments. Petrona told our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq that “I would be happy to finally be able to learn how to read and write, to get married and have a family, and to start my own business raising chickens.”

Meet Jeremy, the oldest of three children in his family. Jeremy, a seven-year-old from Kenya, “was born with a mass swelling between his eyes that has continued to grow and worsen with age,” says our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). Jeremy’s condition, know as a frontal encephalocele, is a defect characterized by a sac-like protrusion of the brain and the membranes that cover it through an opening in the skull. As he grew older, Jeremy began to experience impaired sight, labored breathing, difficulty performing simple tasks, fainting if his swelling was touched, and bullying from his peers. “If not treated, Jeremy may have mental and growth retardation,” says AMHF. His condition has the potential to be life threatening, but Jeremy’s parents have hope that he will receive the surgery he needs to overcome this risk. “Jeremy’s parents are merely casual laborers who struggle to find whatever little work they can," AMHF shares. "With their income being very little, they struggle to put food on the table for their three children.” As a result of their financial situation, Jeremy’s family requires assistance to cover the $780 encephalocele repair surgery that will reduce Jeremy’s chances of suffering mental and growth delays. During the surgery, doctors will reposition the bulging area back into the skull, remove protrusions, and correct the deformity, thereby relieving pressure that can delay normal brain development. “I would love to have my son treated,” says Jeremy’s mother, “just so that he has an opportunity to live healthily and normally like other children.”

“Thank you so much for this support, for keeping my daughter in your heart,” says Ingrid's mother. Ingrid is a 23-month-old girl from Guatemala who is acutely malnourished. “She is much too small for her age since she has not had access to a diverse and caloric diet,” explains our medical partner, Wuqu' Kawoq (WK). “Her diet has not only made her unable to gain weight, but has left her immune system too weak to fight off illnesses such as diarrhea, fevers, and cough--which can be lethal in a child like Ingrid that has a compromised immune system.” WK goes on to say, “Ingrid’s mother is worried because she noticed that she gets sick more often than the other children in the neighborhood.” Indigenous Guatemalans are one of the most marginalized and vulnerable populations in the world. They live in rural areas and suffer from high rates of food insecurity. The poorest indigenous Guatemalan villages have the highest rates of stunting in the world. $512 will fund a multifaceted treatment for Ingrid's malnutrition. WK explains, “This treatment will greatly improve Ingrid's quality of life. She will receive food supplementation, deworming medication, growth monitoring, and micronutrients that will help her grow and develop healthily. Ingrid’s parents will also receive intense nutrition education so they feel empowered to give her the varied diet she needs." Ingrid is the youngest of five children. She loves to play with her older siblings and her older sister's doll. Let's help her get back track so that she can reach a positive growth trajectory.

Meet Suon, an 84-year-old woman from Cambodia. “Suon developed a cataract in each eye 1 year ago,” shares our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC). “This causes her blurred vision, tearing, itchiness, cloudy lenses, and she is afraid of sunshine.” Suon is married with two sons, two daughters, and 20 grandchildren. She spends her free time traveling to the pagoda to listen to the monks pray. Due to her condition, Suon is now unable to see clearly, do any work, or go outside by herself. Suon’s grandson says he worries about her eyesight. Together they traveled three hours to CSC. For $225 CSC doctors will remove the cloudy lenses in Suon’s eyes and replace them with clear implants. The surgery will take about an hour and Suon will be able to see within the same day. “I hope I will be able to see clearly again so I can help my family by looking over my grandchildren, plant vegetables in the garden, and go outside on my own without any help,” says Suon.

53-year-old Teang "enjoys spending his time talking with his neighbors,” says our medical partner in Cambodia, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC). Two years ago, Teang developed a cataract in each eye. A cataract occurs when a semi-opaque layer develops over the eye lens, obscuring vision. CSC explains that the father of four and grandfather of seven experiences blurred vision, tearing, and avoids going outside due to the sunshine. Cataracts are the most common cause of partial blindness worldwide. Although treatable, limited funds and insufficient infrastructure to reach medical clinics are often the only barriers standing between a patient and their ability to see. $225 will fund surgery to remove the cataract in each of Teang’s eyes. During this widely practiced operation, a single incision will be made to remove the cloudy lens and replace it with a clear implant. CSC explains that within less than a day of his recovery, Teang will be able to see clearly again.

Sarah, a 10-year-old student in Kenya, was out with her mother and two siblings over the holidays and "were involved in a road traffic accident in which two people died," our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), shares. Immediately after the accident, Sarah and her family were taken to the hospital by good samaritans, and "are lucky to be alive," AMHF says. Sarah's right hand was fractured, and "an X-ray done confirmed the fracture and the surgeon ordered an ORIF (open reduction internal fixation) to be done." Right now, "Sarah is experiencing pain and inability to use the hand." Her mother shares that Sarah "was supposed to report back to school after the holidays but now she can't" because of her injury. Being the oldest of three children, her family has high hopes for Sarah's education. Sarah's father is a casual laborer at the local open air market, and her mother cares for their children. AMHF adds that the family "lives on very little; they live from hand to mouth" and are not in a position to meet the cost of this surgery. $1,125 covers the cost of the treatment that Sarah needs to be able to return to school with a healthy hand. Funds cover the cost of surgery supplies, meals, medicines, and post-operative care. During the procedure, doctors will go in and realign the broken bones and then fix them in place to ensure they heal properly. AMHF shares that Sarah's father was immensely distressed after the accident. "Please help my girl, the others are also here in the ward and I don’t know what to do." Despite the injuries, he still looks towards an optimistic future. "I pray that Watsi will help my daughter so that her hand can be well again to enable her continue with her studies. She is the hope of our family.”